US govt shutdown: Both sides dig in

The museums that draw millions of visitors to the National Mall in Washington have closed their doors due to the shutdown. Photo / AP

Are you a Kiwi affected by the US shutdown? Send us your stories, photos or video here.

The first US government shutdown in nearly two decades put a choke hold on Washington, as the White House and Republicans dug in for an extended struggle with no way out in sight.

National monuments were barricaded, US war cemeteries in Europe closed, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers sent home without pay, after dawn revealed the wreckage of America's latest paralysing political crisis.

President Barack Obama accused conservatives in the House of Representatives of waging an "ideological crusade" by making government funding conditional on gutting his health reform law.

His top foe, House Speaker John Boehner meanwhile claimed Obama was pursuing a "scorched earth" policy by refusing to negotiate with Republicans, as the rhetoric hit new heights and hopes for a swift end to the standoff faded.

The president was in feisty form at a White House event marking the rollout of a key portion of Obamacare, which turned into an extended taunt at Republicans for failing to halt implementation of the sweeping law.

"This Republican shutdown did not have to happen - I want every American to understand why it did happen," Obama said.

"They have shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable healthcare to millions of Americans."

Related Content

It was the morning after on Capitol Hill, where late night brinkmanship Monday sent America into its first government shutdown in 17 years when the money ran out at midnight.

Boehner, who effectively chose to side with the uproarious Tea Party faction of his party rather than risk his job by attempting to pass a straight funding resolution stripped of political poison pills, lit into the president.

"Washington Democrats have slammed the door on reopening the government by refusing to engage in bipartisan talks," he wrote in an opinion piece in USA Today.

"This is part of a larger pattern: the president's scorched-Earth policy of refusing to negotiate in bipartisan way on his health care law, current government funding, or the debt limit."

Those visiting their dead comrades in France, Belgium, Italy and elsewhere were turned away, as funding dried up for American cemeteries in 20 corners of foreign fields.

Another symbol of hard won freedoms - The Statue of Liberty in New York - was off limits to disappointed tourists.

"The Statue of Liberty is such a strong symbol for so many people. It is America, it symbolizes freedom, jobs, a government you can trust," said Bea Mueller, left in tears after she traveled from Seattle to tour the monument, only to find it closed.

Other government-funded bodies seen as doing urgent work, like the military and border patrol, were kept at full strength, but the Pentagon was due to stand down almost half of its 800,000 civilian employees.

Under the serene Capitol Dome, warring lawmakers, exhausted by the political theatrics of Monday night, stirred as the shutdown moved into its 18th hour.

But early hopes that a compromise would emerge once the shock of the shutdown had hit proved premature.

Republicans in the House and Senate geared up for an effort to pass small bills funding popular parts of the government, including Veterans benefits and museums.

The plan appeared to be an attempt to shame Democrats who say they will not negotiate with "a gun to their head" with the government closed.

"That proposal shows the utter lack of seriousness that we're seeing from Republicans," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.